Workforce Diversity in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery: An Analysis of the American Urological Association Census Data

Abstract

To describe the current state of workforce diversity in Female Pelvic Medicine and ReconstructiveSurgery(FPMRS) using the 2014-2019 American Urological Association (AUA) census data. We evaluated FPMRS workforce diversity using the AUA census data from 2014 to 2019. Underrepresented in medicine (URiM) groups were categorized as individuals who self-identified as non-Hispanic Black/African American,Hispanic,Multiracial, and Other. The FPMRS workforce was then compared to the overall urologic workforce and the other urologic subspecialties (oncology, pediatric urology, and endourology) and assessed by AUA section. In 2019, 602 urologists self-identified as FPMRS providers. Of these 12.4% (n=74) were categorized as URiM urologists compared to 8% of the overall urologic workforce. Women who represent 9.9% of all urologists were overrepresented in FPMRS workforce (46.5%). FPMRS had the largest proportion of URiM and women urologists when compared to the other subspecialty areas. The FPMRS urologic subspecialty has the highest percentage of women and URiM urologists compared to all other urologic subspecialty areas. Engagement initiatives and targeted programs may offer insights into this trend. Further research is required to determine the impact of such programs in attracting URiM and women to FPMRS.